| Original caption: American soldiers at the Maginot Line. Soldiers wait at entrance and in pit of a Maginot Line fort near Climbach, France. 7th Army, 2nd Platoon, F Company, 2nd Battalion. American soldiers at the gros ouvrage of Hochwald in the Vosges mountains, December 1944. They are standing in front of Block 13, an unusual block chat combines a casemate-mounted 135 millimeter (5.31-inch) howitzer (the left embrasure) with a standard infantry casemate block (the right embrasures). Ouvrage Hochwald West Block 13, 7 miles (11 kilometers) from the German border, was part of the Maginot Line. The huge Hochwald fortress, comprising 11 battle blocks, 9 casemates and a garrison with a complement of 1,071 officers and men. Block 13 had 1 Tourelle de 135 Millimeter Modèle 1932 (T135 – Turret 135 Millimeter Model 1932”) armed with 2 Lance Bombes de 135 Millimeter Modèle 1932 (“135 Millimeter M1932 Heavy Mortars”); 1 Jumelage de Mitrailleuses (JM – “Twin Machine Guns”) cloche (Cloches are non-retractable turrets); 1 Lance-Grenade (LG – “Grenade Launcher”); 1 Guetteur et Fusil-Mitrailleur (GFM – “Lookout and Rifle-Machine Gunner”). During their occupation, the Germans converted the support areas of a number of ouvrages into bombproof underground factories. They also removed some weapons and equipment for use in their Atlantic Wall fortifications, but on the whole they did little to alter the condition of the Maginot Line. In 1944 a few portions of the Maginot Line saw combat for the 2nd and what will almost certainly be the last time as the badly overmatched German forces sought any advantage that would help to stem the seemingly inexorable Allied advance across France. In early September, troops of Lieutenant General George S. Patton’s (November 11, 1885 – December 21, 1945) United States 3rd Army were able to occupy the portions of the Maginot Line north of Thionville and west of the Moselle River against token opposition. But then fierce resistance by German troops defending the strong fortifications of the old fortress of Metz, supply shortages, and the obstacle posed by the Moselle River brought the 3rd Army’s advance to a temporary halt. The American forces used the enforced pause to study the captured Maginot Line works. New methods of attacking concrete fortifications were developed and tested and troops were trained in their use. In early November the offensive resumed with the 90th Infantry Division making a difficult assault crossing over the flooded Moselle River east of Thionville. After securing a bridgehead, it began to advance to the southeast in conjunction with the 10th Armored Division. The main axis of advance was directly along the Maginot Line. The German troops sought to use the fortifications to strengthen their defenses, but they lacked both the numbers and the extensive training necessary to employ them effectively. As a result they were for the most part only able to make use of the infantry defenses. They were further handicapped by having the main attack come from along the Line and from its rear rather than from the direction for which the fortifications were intended. While there was some fighting involving Maginot Line works, it did little to slow down the Americans who made effective use of their earlier training to attack the fortifications where they were most vulnerable. For example, they positioned 155 millimeter (6.1 inch) howitzers to pound the exposed rear concrete face of 1 of the gros ouvrages of Hackenberg’s 2 artillery casemate blocks, rapidly knocking it out of action. Further to the east, the Heer (“Nazi German Army”) generally made little effort to hold the Maginot Line, preferring instead to defend their own West Wall fortifications that were located just over the border in Germany and that were oriented to defend against an attack from France. But a few troops did try to hold 2 of the ouvrages in the new-fronts area east of the Sarre Gap. 1 fell quickly, but there was stiff resistance at the other 1 before the Americans were able to capture it. Meanwhile, in August the Allied 7th Army had successfully landed on the French Mediterranean coast and had rapidly expanded its beachhead to occupy most of southeastern France. In the Maritime Alps, German units attempted to hold a few of the Maginot Line ouvrages against Allied forces approaching from their rear, but with little success. | |
| Image Filename | wwii0749.jpg |
| Image Size | 827.88 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 2340 x 2916 |
| Photographer | |
| Photographer Title | |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | December 15, 1944 |
| Location | |
| City | Climbach |
| State or Province | Grand Est |
| Country | France |
| Archive | National Archives and Records Administration |
| Record Number | NRE-338-FTL(EF)-703(1) |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
Author of the World War II Multimedia Database